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If you read last week’s column, I talked about the striking difference in Mr. Shmooze type customer service at the front desk of a top hotel. One person started presenting me with problems to solve, while the other person interrupted and solved all my problems by simply saying, “I will take care of it.” Here is another one . . . but not to be redundant . . . I will follow with some new thoughts.

I went to the airport yesterday. I printed my ticket. I used mileage for a first class seat (important to me . . . I am 6’6”). The ticket gave me a coach seat. I went to the counter and the lady there could not help me. She called the awards department. Read more

One of the fun things about thinking and acting like Mr. Shmooze is that once you become sensitive to the next levels of positive attitude, great communication and outstanding service, you can find it in so many interesting situations.

I was recently up in Park City, Utah for a workshop. The venue was a beautiful and popular hotel. In fact, it was so popular, there was nowhere to park outside. So I drove down into the garage and finally found a parking space. I noticed some valet parking signs but they were not very clear, so when I got up to the lobby I decided to double check just to be sure I would not get towed. Read more

Cell phones and texting are here to stay and as younger people move into the business world, they are bringing a legacy of checking and sending messages during all occasions ranging from walking down the street to dinner. Evidently they do not see it as rude since everybody is doing it, and my point here is not to debate changing social mores. I have a different thought in mind. Read more

Last week we talked about fear as a powerful element on the buy side and the fact that fear of pain is a more powerful emotion than reward. So how do we overcome this resistance in a buyer? This can be approached in a couple of ways.

One, we can identify his perceived risk and remove it. For example: Read more

Studies have shown that people are 2-5x more motivated by fear than by a reward.

You can see this natural tendency in play all the time . . . for example, most people did not start using seatbelts, which were available for years, even though studies showed the obvious reward (safety and good health), until it became a law. Then people feared getting a ticket if they did not comply. The same thing is going on today with texting and driving. It will not stop until a tangible fear (probably a law, unfortunately) is introduced, since simply the reward of being safe, as logical as that should be, is not compelling enough for many. Read more